Saturday, January 17, 2009

The Frostbite Returns!

The typical dense, freezing fog that hangs low in the valleys this time of year in southern Oregon gave runners a perfectly timed reprieve. A cold, but sunny morning greeted the entrants of this year's Frostbite Returns 10K and 5K races. The courses, that run on the rural roads on the outskirts of Talent, OR, are far from forgiving. Only the first mile (and last) of the out and back routes can be construed as flat. The bulk of the ten kilometer course undulates like the ocean in a tempest; leaving most runners gasping for the frozen air that surrounds them.J.J. Moses (in yellow) strides across the last quarter mile, catching air as he goes, to win the 10K.

In the men's 10K race, J.J. Moses took the lead from the start and never looked back. J.J. galloped away from both the nearest 10K and 5K runners with ease winning in 34:15. Elliot Jantzer ran with the chase group until the turnaround and then blazed back to finish second overall in 36:04. A tight trio of runners followed suit consisting of Eric Poole, Chris Rennaker and Ian Torrence. At the finish line Rennaker and Torrence fought, with teeth gnashing, for a third place tie in 37:40. Poole finished fifth three seconds behind. Jeremy Eisen was sixth in 38:52 and Joe Griffin brought in seventh in 39:40.

In the women's 10K race Dorsey Dobry was crowned the ladies' winner in 42:18. Maggie Donovan followed in 43:37. Laura Raber was third woman in the 10K, across in 53:59. Kierra Huggins finished fourth in 44:28.

Battling a head cold, John Leuthold started conservatively and worked his way through the pack to win the 5K race in 18:18. With this being John's first win of 2009; inquiring minds want to know if he will continue on to break his "ten wins in a year streak?" Guy Hawkason ran hard to stay in stride with Leuthold. Guy finished second in 18:20. Todd Ragsdale, returning to the racing circuit since injuring his knee in November, took third in 18:23.John Leuthold (5K winner), Todd Raggsdale and Chris Redfeldt celebrate after a well run 5K.

In the women's 5K, Suzanne Ray took the win in 21:12. Jane Podolski finished second in 22:17. Melanie Neilitz rounded out the top three in 22:59. A special kudos to RVR Thursday Night Ladies Group Run leader Maria Clementi who finished the 5K in 23:39.

Congratulations to race director Krista Peterson for a job well done and to the rest of the Southern Oregon Runners' volunteers that helped the 160+ runners cover the course. Full results will be posted here soon.A Good Group Assembled. (Standing left to right; Torrence, Eisen, Leuthold, Moses, Scott, Lela and Camden Stemple. Kneeling l to r; Brian, Poole. Lying; Rennaker.

nice work out there everyone. Although cold, from the pictures it looks quite tropical out there compared to -37 here in the Upper Midwest. half-marathon this weekend, and projected -3 for the start. Cooler than a polar bear's toe nails.